Wash chicken thoroughly and drain completely.

Powder fennel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms to a fine powder in a mixer jar. Then add ginger garlic. Make a fine paste of all. If your blender doesn't do it finely, then add curd mentioned for marination and blend. You can also use a hand pestle to do this.

Add the paste, curd, turmeric, chili powder and chicken to a mixing bowl. Marinate and set aside.

Wash and soak rice for at least 20 to 30 mins. Drain the water.

Keep your coconut milk and water ready.

Add oil to a hot pot or pressure cooker.

Saute bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon.

Add onions and green chilies. Fry until they turn golden.

Add chicken and saute on a medium heat until the chicken turns pale and whitish.

Then add tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves. Sprinkle salt and cook covered on a low heat untl the tomatoes turn mushy. Chicken is almost half cooked at this stage. Do not cook on high heat as it will make the chicken hard. Cook without lid until the moisture from tomatoes and curd evaporates completely.

Add water and coconut milk. Bring it to a boil on a medium heat . You can also use hot water to prevent the chicken from turning hard. Some times adding cold water to the chicken makes it hard and tough to cook.

Add drained rice and cook on a medium heat.

If making in pressure cooker. cover and cook on a medium heat for 1 whistle.

If making in pot, Cook in open pot until almost the water is absorbed. Then cover and cook on a low heat until soft cooked. If the rice remains undercooked, you may need to sprinkle some water and cook until done.

Allow the cooked chicken biryani to rest for atleast 15 mins.

Open the lid and fluff up gently.

Garnish Chettinad biryani with eggs or coriander leaves.